ABSTRACT
Chapter 2 presents a five-step process for preparing for the first board meeting discussing sustainability. The most important piece of advice – talk business! Therefore, we recommend starting off with understanding the business case for sustainability, followed by a reflection on which social and environmental issues most impact on the competitiveness of the organization. Once you have identified the top issues the organization needs to evaluate regarding how these issues are integrated into the company’s management system (policies, indicators etc.), you can determine how to develop an action plan to improve the company’s performance. While this process helps to focus on the relevance of sustainability issues to the company’s business, there are still some obstacles to be overcome, such as a short-term view, questions of fiduciary duties and a lack of expertise at board level. We provide some advice on how to deal with these obstacles before the chapter ends, with some tips regarding future board meetings, which could address topics such as legal developments, a thorough reputation analysis, mega-trends and future scenarios.
